This shopping blog has been talking a lot about mobile phones recently, but there were some nice, high profile phones coming out for the Christmas period. One of the latest is the Prada 2 - but how does it fare against the more established iPhone 3G?

I think it’s fair to say that the iPhone raised the bar for how mobile phones look and their usability, but they’ve also got poor specifications for the gadget fan - an ok camera, a bit clumsy to use, and they keep freezing - what’s that all about? It’s just like macs - great to look at but not as usable as a PC

One of the selling points was the touch screen - great for browsing through your phonebook or photos, but not so good when you’re typing with the ends of your fingers like a manic squirrel. And you get greasy finger marks all over the screen too (but maybe I’ve just got particularly greasy fingers!)

The Prada 2, a rehash of the popular Prada (nice original name there - why not Revenge of the Prada instead - that’d get me interested). It’s a good high end mobile though, and looks a lot like the iPhone. It’s almost identical to the original Prada phone too- a big screen and black casing, but this bad boy is a bit thicker because it’s got a slide-out keyboard hidden away.

I don’t know how useful the keyboard is going to be - if you’re just texting you’ll be using the onscreen keyboard, so it’s only for longer emails, and it’s still pretty small - remember, this is coming from someone who finds laptop keyboards too small!

The Prada 2 has got all the things you expect from a luxury mobile - full browsing, Wi-Fi, a 5MP camera, video calling, you know the drill by now. Do you want some numbers? Here goes, and look away if you’re not a numbers geek…..

Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900). WCDMA 900/2100, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA connectivity - they’re good numbers but even I admit they’re a bit dull for a shopping blog. The more meaningful features include a 3″ TFT touch screen with 400×240 pixels, USB 2.0, Bluetooth FM-Radio and TV-out. It runs LG’s own operating system too, rather than Windows mobile or Android from Google.

The Prada 2 is out now and it costs quite a whack, but it’s on a level with its main competitors like the Blackberry Storm and iPhone3G. I think it’s a closely fought battle between the iPhone and Prada 2, so why do I say there’s no contest?

Well because I hate iPhones, so the Prada 2 wins. No one said it was going to be fair.

Rob

Rated: from 2465 votes

MP3 player for every household! stock.xchng © mrceviz

Back in the olden days, people used to have a stereo system. Then came Sony’s Walkman and you could listen to taped music on the move. Portable CD players made quality music on the move a reality, but you still needed your CD collection to make the thing work. And then came MP3.

Cheap portable MP3 players meant you weren’t limited any more in how or where you could listen to your favourite sounds. Keep an MP3 player in the car to connect to the CD player; and another in the office in case you’re desperate to hear Beyonce at lunchtime; and another for going jogging; you get the picture? Suddenly there’s no need to limit yourself to just the one music player.

I’ve got five at last count, with Creative Zen Nano plus MP3 players being my favourite. The Zen Nano plus is tiny, under 3.5 cm wide and 7cm long, and weighing only 34 grams with the battery so it slips into any pocket. Amazingly there’s no compromise on sound quality and product reviews are outstanding.

Forget the iPod and all the software it makes you download just to use it. You can plug the Creative Zen Nano plus straight into your PC and drag and drop the music. Job done!

These great-looking little gadgets come with up to 1GB of memory, a microphone built in and of course an FM radio. At around £50 they’re not the cheapest, but the build and music quality are second to none as confirmed by the product reviews. So even if your friends already have an MP3 player, they’re bound to appreciate one of these as a gift. Or why not treat yourself to one as your personal Christmas present? Surely you can never have too many MP3 players.

Or can you? How many have you got?

Rob

Rated: from 1478 votes

© BT

If you’re in the market for a digital cordless phone, you might want to look at the BT Reveal Designer phone whose details passed across my desk this morning.

For a digital cordless phone, it certainly has eye appeal and with this smart gleaming black design, BT is clearly making an effort to lure back those of us who use mainly mobile phones. Sitting on your desk or table, the BT Reveal will attract admiring glances from all who pass by and be a sure topic for conversation.

At £130 or so, this phone is by no means cheap, but it’s stacked with facilities. So if you ask a lot of your digital phone or just like gadgets, the Reveal could be the one for you.

There’s a digital answering machine included with a 20 minute capacity for messages, and a neat little touch is the ability to plug in your mobile’s SIM card and transfer your contacts. There’s nothing worse than having to laboriously key into your new phone all the contacts from your old one, so this feature will be very welcome.

Add to that SMS text messaging, the ability to produce polyphonic ringtones, and a huge contact list of 255 numbers, and you’ll find that the BT Reveal designer digital cordless phone takes some beating.

Rob

Rated: from 1544 votes

istockphoto © Jan Tyler

Dogs are brilliant – they wander about having adventures, pausing only for you to play wit them and stroke them. And that’s what I thought until my wife inherited a terrier in the spring. Don’t ask how - it’s a long story…..

Anyway, we’ve always had a cat and we were getting on fine until my wife appeared one day with this dog. A nice dog yeah, but still a demanding, noisy barking dog which put an end to our peaceful cat-only lives! Getting a dog is like having a naughty toddler that you have to keep an eye on 24/7. The cat didn’t like it too much either.

If you’ve got a dog you’ll know their appetites can be never ending, from tasty treats to complete dog foods, they never stop eating! So how do you keep the dog quiet? We spent a fortune on dog stuff to make his life complete – dog foods, a nice kennel, even a dog pool to cool down in during the summer. He loves them all, especially the complete dog foods. He’ll scoff the lot, and then lie down for a sleep, giving us all a rest from the doggy chaos.

Treat your dog with complete dog foods and treat yourselves too.

Rob

Rated: from 1770 votes

© AEG

At this time of year, it’s easy to forget about your fridge freezer, what with the cold weather outside. But New Year, with the non stop eating and entertaining is just the time when you need your fridge freezer to be at its best. You wouldn’t have much of a festive season without it, that’s for sure.

So now is the time to get out that fridge thermometer and just check that both your fridge and your freezer are keeping stuff as cold as they should. The fridge must be between +1 and +3 degrees C and your freezer no warmer than -15 degrees C to keep your food in safety.

If your fridge freezer is up to the job, well congratulations! But if not, then check out what have on offer and get one delivered in plenty of time to fill it with festive cheer. AEG Electrolux is one of the best value and most reliable manufacturers of fridge freezers and other white goods, and AEG Electrolux is always the first choice of this shopping blog writer when I need to replace any of my kitchen appliances.

Rob

Rated: from 1712 votes